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Hi! My name is Minerva Mint. Want to know the most interesting thing about me? Nobody knows where I came from. I was just discovered in a train station as a baby! A station custodian named Mrs. Flopps found me in a travel bag. She’s been taking care of me ever since. We haven’t discovered who my parents are, but we’ll keep looking until we find them!In the travel bag was the deed to our home, Lizard Manor in Cornwall, England. Some people say Lizard Manor is haunted. I think it’s just a little rundown — but with fifty-five rooms, would you complain?

There are lots of animals that live in Lizard Manor and I call each and every one of them my friends. There’s Hugo, the chubby badger, and the fox parents, Cinnamon and Ginger, and their babies. And I can’t forget about the snowy owls that live on the roof.
Living in Lizard Manor with mystery parents leads to lots of crazy adventures. And my new friends Ravi and Thomasina are by my side for all of them..I can’t wait for you to read more about our discoveries!

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Ravi and his mom just moved to Cornwall from Mumbai, India. I don’t think he likes adventures as much as Thomasina and I do, but he is really smart and has some good ideas. I think he has a crush on Thomasina, but don’t tell him I said that. He is already shy enough!

Thomasina lives in the grand Crowley Hall. The thing I like best about Thomasina is that she loves adventures — she is a great mystery-solving partner. Thomasina has lots of fancy clothes and shoes and always looks her best, even when we are just spending time in dirty Lizard Manor!

The three of us together are The Order of the Owls!

Mrs. Flopps is the person who found me in a travel bag at Victoria Station. We moved to Lizard Manor together, and she has taken care of me since I was a baby. Mrs. Flopps is as certain as I am that my parents will come back one day. She is a little weird and a lot overweight, but I think she is the most wonderful woman ever!

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Finding My Parents:

Finding my parents is the biggest, most exciting adventure of them all. As you probably already know, Mrs. Flopps found me in a travel bag when I was just a baby. In the travel bag, there were a few items my parents left behind. Ravi, Thomasina and I think these are clues to help me figure out how to find my parents. So far, our clues are:
• The big leather travel bag where Mrs. Flopps found me. The leather bag has a shiny brass buckle with the letters M.M (just like my name!)
• The deed to Lizard Manor
• Volume Four of The Universal Encyclopedia, M-P with a label on the first page with two messages in fancy handwriting
• A letter address to Mr. Septimus Hodge (I have no idea who Septimus Hodge is!)
I know we don’t have a lot of clues, and it will be really hard to figure out what they mean, but with my great friends, I really think anything can happen. You just have to believe!

Protecting the Order of the Owls from Gilbert’s Gang:

We are always at war with Gilbert O’Sullivan and his gang. You should see his dog, William the Conqueror — he is terrifying! But do you know the biggest problem with Gilbert is? He is actually pretty smart. Lizard Manor is smack dab in the middle of the area Gilbert calls his “territory.” I have a feeling the trouble with him will never end…

Keeping phony parents away:

Countless people wish that they owned Lizard Manor. After all, it’s a huge mansion with ocean views. Some of these people even pretend to be my parents — just so they can call Lizard Manor home! Good thing the phonies are easy to spot.
I have to drive the phonies out of town before they can tell everyone they are my parents and the rightful owners of Lizard Manor. With the help of Ravi, Thomasina, and my animal friends that live in Lizard Manor, none of them have stuck around yet!

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The Order of the Owls

No one knows for sure where Minerva Mint came from. She just appeared in a London train station one day — a baby in a bag. Since then she’s been living with Mrs. Flopps, the woman who found her, in a rundown mansion called Lizard Manor. It’s been nine years now, and Minerva is no closer to finding her parents. Fortunately, she has made two new friends, Thomasina and Ravi, who turn the mystery of finding her identity into a wonderful adventure.

Merlin’s Island

Minerva, Ravi and Thomisina’s latest mission has them searching for a new secret hideout for their club, The Order of the Owls. But their plans are interrupted when a handsome archeologist visits Pebrose to investigate a certain cave. The people of Pembrose believe the cave once belonged to Merlin, the famous sorcerer, but the archeologist has his doubts. Is it possible that this is the wizard’s cave or is it just a legend to attract tourists? Minerva and her friends will solve the mystery!

The Legend of Black Bart

Strange things are happening in Pembrose . . . bad things. Minerva and her friends are certain that it’s the ghost of Black Bart, the fiercest pirate that ever existed, that’s causing all the trouble. Legend has it that the old pirate was so mean during his life that his spirit cannot find peace until he performs a good deed. Minerva is certain that she can convince Bart to do just that, but will the search for his spirit lead her and her friends into danger?

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Elisa Puricelli Guerra was born in Milan, Italy. She always dreamed of becoming a writer (or an astronaut or a witch) and her love of books was born when her mother read the Pippi Long stocking books to her her aloud. Like Pippi, Guerra has red hair — a fact that has caused many problems. She never got away with anything in school, because her flaming read hair always caught the attention of the teachers. As a writer, she often gives the main characters in her stories red hair, too, but she makes them extra clever, so they get away with a bit more than she did. Guerra also works as a freelance writer and translator, but if she could make a living by just reading, that is exactly what she would do!

Gabo Leon Bernstein was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He studied graphic design at the University of Buenos Aires and comic art at the Garaycochea Art School. In addition to illustrating several international book series, he has also worked on character and toy design for television, background design for animation on movies and TV, and editorial illustration for advertising agencies and magazines. The more he struggles to learn how to play the violin, the more he’s convinced that visual artwork is his life and passion.